paint me chaos
by malfoyforever
Summary: They're nothing if not chaotic and slightly messed up. -Various Marauder Era drabbles- ON HIATUS.
1. James, Sirius, Lily

**paint me chaos **

_James Potter, Sirius Black, and Lily Evans_

James held his wand tightly in his hand. "Who is it?"

"It's Voldemort," came the answer. "I'm here to kill you, Potter... Open the door or I'll blast. You've been warned."

He sighed, half-relieved, half-exasperated. "You're _not _Voldemort."

"Ooh, don't you use my name lightly like that! _No_! You're not _worthy_!" The man at the door paused. "Because you're Potter, and I'll kill you, vermin!"

"Sirius," James said very seriously, kicking the door. "Not funny, mate. What's your Animagus form?"

"A _ssssnake_..."

"Padfoot!"

"_Kidding_!" Sirius said hastily. "Big black dog, looks like a Grim. Also known as Padfoot."

James opened the door. Sure enough, he found himself face-to-face with a grinning Sirius, who came in, took off his shoes, and hopped onto the couch. James joined him, sitting his old armchair, and Sirius leaned in.

"When'd you get so serious, mate? You're starting to sound like Moony!"

He waved a hand and frowned. "Well, if you'd been told a million times to stay put because ole Voldemort is off to kill you, you wouldn't be exactly jumping for joy, Padfoot," James pointed out.

"Still," Sirius said, propping up on his elbows and smirking, "You'd better be careful, Jamesie. Else you'll have a nose in a novel instead of a Quidditch magazine in no time."

"I'd like to see that," said a female voice, and Lily-clad-with-baby-Harry came down the stairs. "Sirius. Why're you here?"

Sirius pouted at her. "Hey! You said I was welcome to invite myself at any time, Lily dear."

"Yes," Lily retorted, with a roll of her eyes, "but I didn't say you could prop your smelly feet on _my_ cushions."

"You want me to take off my socks, then?" Sirius challenged.

Lily put baby Harry in his high chair and crossed her arms at him, and then at James. "Potter, if you can't control Black, I'll kick him _out_."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "Wow, you're starting to sound like old Lily."

"_Old_ Lily?" Lily scoffed. "You're making me sound so bloody _old_, Black!"

"Old Lily," James intervened, "as in 'the one we went to school with', Lily-Flower. Chill."

Lily sighed and kicked Sirius. "Move," she ordered. "Don't want your sweaty socks shoved halfway down my face."

"_Variation_," Sirius shot. He turned to James. "Why'd you call me here?"

"_You_ called him here?" Lily bristled at her husband.

"You blamed the wrong person," James replied cheekily, looking at her with innocent hazel eyes. "I was, er, bored."

"Bored," she repeated.

"Yeah!" Sirius exclaimed; both of his friends turned to stare at him. He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah! He said he wanted company, that he was going mad... Or something! I wasn't listening too closely, so... Point is, I show up, and now you two are fighting over who invited me over?"

"Actually," Lily pointed out, "I do not doubt that James invited you over anymore."

"So we're not fighting," James completed.

"Anyway," Sirius drummed his fingers on his thigh, "what kind of entertainment do you require from me? Circus tricks? Changing into an Animagus? Pranks? Joke-telling-"

"Don't tell me you're going to tell another lame joke," Lily muttered.

"Splendid idea! How about the one about the hag, the goblin, and the vampire?"

There was suddenly a horrid smell in the room, and then the three of them heard a cry. When Lily turned, she saw that it was Harry, his face scrunched up. Needless to say, he did not look very happy. She went to the high chair; when she approached, the smell got worse. Picking him up, she shoved him into Sirius's lap.

"This," she said with a smirk, "will be what you'll do to entertain us. Right, James?"

James grinned at Sirius's nose wrinkling. "'Course, Lily! Padfoot, you'll, er, perform your... godfather's duties."

Sirius decided to research when exactly children were old enough for potty-training. He made a face and sniffed; Sirius gagged. Glaring at James and Lily, he said, "Oh, bloody... You've got me, fine. Now where're the nappies?"

"Bathroom," Lily said cheerfully. "Come back only when you've finished. Don't get it too messy."

Sirius groaned. "I feel like _Kreacher_," he muttered.

Only when Sirius had come back to his flat did James and Lily realise that they had not worried over the war for an entire day; for a bit of time, they had contented themselves with just being _normal_ young people: a mother, a father, and a godfather joking and taking care of their child.

For a bit of time, they had felt _safe_, a rarity in this imperfect world at war.


	2. Peter

_Peter Pettigrew _

Peter peered up at the rubble that had been James and Lily's house as a rat; his black eyes blinked.

He had heard of it, all right, first thing in the morning: when the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet had flown off without demanding his pay, Peter had been intelligent enough to know that something was up. Something _was_: there it was, in bold letters, on the first page:

**YOU-KNOW-WHO HAS DISAPPEARED**

Following the title (screaming in itself) was a very informative text on Harry Potter: James and Lily's son, the vanquisher of the Dark Lord. All over the country, witches and wizards were celebrating; all over the country, toasts were being made to the Boy Who Lived. Peter's watery eyes scanned through quickly, and then he walked outside, to find a wand at his throat.

It was Bellatrix; Bellatrix, Malfoy, and Nott. Naturally, Bellatrix was hysterical; her Dark Lord, missing? Her Dark Lord, rumoured dead, killed by a mere toddler? Malfoy seemed more composed, but he couldn't hide his apprehension; Nott seemed most gleeful. They questioned him; Peter even got _tortured_ by that bloody Bellatrix.

At the end, he confessed. He admitted that he had been the one to tell the Dark Lord where the Potters had lived.

Bellatrix had all been for killing him, really; it took both Malfoy and Nott to physically drag her away. When the three Death Eaters looked back, they saw nothing but yellowed grass; Peter had slipped away in his rat form.

Travelling the sewers, he managed to arrive at the Potters', bone tired.

And here he was, wallowing in his own guilt and self-pity.

_He had betrayed his friends. _

_He had killed Lily and James Potter. _

_He had rendered baby Harry an orphan. _

_He had led the Dark Lord to his demise. _

_He had barely escaped murder from Bellatrix Lestrange's violent hand. _

He looked at the remains of the Potters' house. He ducked his head; his whiskers quivered. He chewed a piece of stray wood nervously.

A full moon was rising. Immediately, he thought of Remus. How disappointed Remus and Sirius would be of him.

How angry they would be; how stupid he was.

They had been his _friends_.

He had **betrayed** them.

_Now, he belonged nowhere. _

Peter Pettigrew turned on his heel and crossed the street cautiously, disappearing into the night.


	3. Benjy, Dorcas

_Dorcas Meadowes and Benjy Fenwick_

"Dorcas? _Dorcas_? Are you okay?"

She turned her head, found that it hurt too much to be allowed, and mumbled a weak "yes".

"You're not," said the male voice. A warm hand was on her shoulder as he whispered unfamiliar incantations.

Immediately, she found herself relaxing; her head stopped pounding a bit from the blood loss.

"Thank you," she croaked.

"Welcome," Dorcas recognized the voice now.

"Benjy?"

"Mm? Dorcas, you should rest. Avery struck you quite hard."

"My head-"

"Dark magic," Benjy said calmly. "I know. I was a Healer before I joined the Aurors."

"Hurts," she muttered. "Water."

"You thirsty?" Benjy unscrewed the top of his water bottle. "Here, I'll hold it."

"Damn," she managed to say. She felt a tiny bit better, now. At least she could open her eyes. "I feel like a baby."

He laughed. "No worries, we always feel little at some point."

"Where're we?"

His coffee brown eyes dart to and fro before he answered, which did not go unnoticed.

"Now? We're at Remus's. This is his cellar."

"Smells weird."

Benjy shifted. "Oh, this is where he... transforms."

She flushed. "I thought you said something about Avery?"

"Well, yeah. You remember? We were at the Avery residence, breaking protective spells... A hooded figure came up behind you – Avery Junior. Didn't have time to warn you – I could only Stun him and Apparate you to Remus's, which is always open, you know. First place I thought of... You've been out for a good while now."

"Mm." Dorcas's fingers drummed against the hard mattress and she sneezed. "Why didn't he strike me with the Killing Curse?"

Benjy shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe he wanted to have a bit of fun with you."

"Twisted."

"Yeah... But what can I say? They're damn Death Eaters."

"You ever thought... what if we killed them... I bet their families would mourn. Hate us."

Benjy nodded. He was one of the first people to take her questions seriously, Dorcas realised. "Yes, they would. But at least us, we're protecting the innocent. Them, they kill the innocent. They had choices, to not join... Well, they joined, and they'll suffer." He stared into her eyes. "But I'll say something," he said softly, "I thought that killing them was a bit... cruel, in the beginning."

"You did?" Dorcas yawned and winced. "Merlin... But what made you stop thinking that?"

"My mum." Benjy looked down. "She was killed a bit after I joined. Later on, I didn't think about that at all. You have to keep telling yourself that they're evil, or you won't make it... figuratively and literally."

"I'm sorry," she felt her eyelids growing heavier.

"Look," he said, getting up. He must have noticed her weariness. "Look, I'll go upstairs and get you and me some tea, okay? You stay here. Rest, if you will."

"Okay," she paused. When he was on the stairs, she murmured, "Love you."

Benjy froze. "What'd you say, Dorcas?"

"Love you," she said, a bit louder. "You're better than Acid Pops and Sugar Quills combined!"

When he was out of earshot, Benjy laughed.

"I'm better than two sweets... That's supposed to make me feel _good_? Wait! I think she was paying me a compliment..." He slapped his forehead; no use, he was absolutely hysterical. "Oh, damn, Dorcas... The girl's definitely like no other."

In his mind, he could picture himself taking her porcelain-skinned face, kissing her, running his hands through her black-black hair. He pushed the thought away; love in the midst of a war was pointless; it would only amount to one of them getting hurt. It was dangerous... but yet, he was a Gryffindor – and the thought of that danger made him feel so _reckless_ and _free _that he felt like a child, a Hogwarts student, once more.

Benjy Fenwick sighed and decided to just take this day by day.

(It proved to be successful.)


End file.
